The most obvious way to identify a mineral, yet there are a few problems with this method.

The main problem is that a lot of minerals have very similar shades of milky-white, grey or
brown. It would be difficult to tell them apart from colour alone.

Also, one mineral may come in a variety of colours, or a mineral may tarnish (think rusting
copper) or have minute impurities and not appear the right colour!

Still, there are a few who have colours that make them easily identifiable...

Meet Malachite and Cinnabar!

Definition of Lustre: Ability to reflect light (is it shiny?!?!)

A mineral can be classified as either metallic or non-metallic

A mineral defined as metallic would, naturally, shine like a polished

metal. Be careful though because it may just have shiny flecks rather
than a large shiny surface (see Pyrite sample)

You can describe the lustre of a non-metallic mineral in

several ways...

It can be vitreous, like Quartz (vitreous comes

from the word window, think like reflecting on
glass!)

Or it can have a pearly lustre, like Mica

Other terms to describe a non-metallic lustre are earthy (dull), waxy, greasy or silky.
This quality refers to the shape or structure of a crystal or, to be more specific, how we view
the atom arrangement of a mineral. This would be visible if there is time and space for the
crystal structure to grow as the rock is forming.

The difficulty is that the crystal habit is usually quite hard to observe. If there is no time or
room to grow large crystals, only microscopic crystals will grow and we will not be able to
see them with the naked eye.

The above-right picture is of an asbestos mineral. Yes, asbestos is the name for minerals
with a fibrous structure! These fibers are hundreds of times smaller than the hair on your
head. They are dangerous because when inhaled they can enter our lungs, which could lead
to scarring or cancer. They used to use asbestos materials for insulation in buildings
but because of the health risks they now use different materials.

As the name implies, it is the colour of a mineral’s powder when a line is drawn with that
mineral on a streak plate.

Generally, the streak of a metallic mineral is at least as dark as the mineral’s colour.

For non-metallic minerals, the streak is usually white or colourless.

The great thing about a streak test is that although a mineral may vary in apparent colour,
the streak tends to be consistent! Observe the streak of Hematite. Hematite is a mineral
that can be brown, red or silver in colour; however, the streak will always be a red-brown.
 a. Cleavage

Don’t get too excited! Cleavage refers to the tendency for a mineral
to naturally split along smooth, flat surfaces. To explain it in a real-
life situation, think of an orange. If you were to eat one without
cutting it up it has natural pieces, break points. Mineral cleavage is
something we can observe as it exists even on tiny mineral grains.

b. Fracture

Not all minerals split so smooth and evenly. Some

break along non-cleavage surfaces. These are
called fractures. Quartz and Obsidian are two
examples of minerals that have a conchoidal
fracture. A conchoidal fracture means pieces break
off in a shell-like shape (looks like the inside of a
sea shell).

Specifically this means: What is the minerals resistance to

being scratched?

This is measured using Moh’s Scale of Hardness! The scale

goes from 1(soft) to 10(hard) see page 50 of your text!

Here is a simplified version:

1 – mineral is scratched by a fingernail (really soft!)

3 – mineral is scratched by a penny

5 – scratched by a steel nail

7 – the mineral will scratch glass

**Mineral hardness stats**

1. Talc is the softest mineral (1)
2. Diamond is the hardest mineral (10)
3. Quartz is the hardest common mineral (hence the
CAUTION! attraction to quartz countertops!) (7)

Hardness is different from brittleness (easily broken). Make sure a scratch is real by feeling
it with your fingernail! It might just be a colour streak otherwise.
 The technical side to this test is a bit complex. Usually specific gravity is
measured by comparing a mineral’s weight in air, to its weight in water.
We’re going to keep it simple though!!

Specific gravity refers to the density of a material. For example, if two

objects are exactly the same size they are not necessarily the same
weight (think a blueberry and a marble, or something like that!). The
heavier object is said to have a higher density or specific gravity (sg).

Since the samples we will be working with are of similar sizes, we will compare the weights
of the samples to quartz. Here’s how it works:

1. Mineral is heavier than quartz sample: HIGH Sg

2. Mineral is about the same weight as quartz: AVERAGE Sg
3. Mineral is lighter than quartz sample: LOW Sg

a. Acid Test

This is a fun, easy test! Some minerals will fizz when they contact a drop of dilute
Hydrochloric acid (HCl). This indicates the presence of a carbonate ion (CO32-). Calcite is
the mineral that we can identify using this test. Its scientific name is Calcium carbonate –
think back to Science 10, this is a compound composed of Calcium and carbonate!

Other minerals react to this test, but not as strongly. Rocks containing calcite such as
limestone and marble will react to this test as well!

b. Minerals with Special Properties

Some minerals have properties that make them easily identifiable, for example Magnetite...
what do you think its special property is? Other examples are:

Halite: taste is this mineral’s defining property as it is also known as Sodium Chloride (table
salt) **note: do not taste any minerals without direction**

Fluorite and Calcite: these minerals are fluorescent as they

both glow under UV light

Calcite: It has a property called double refraction. This means

it bends light so that through it we see two images instead of
one.